North Korea's Coming-out Party

By

Barry Wain

Updated July 28, 2000 12:19 a.m. ET

I t's been a long time since East Asia witnessed such a dramatic burst of diplomatic activity. In the space of a year, North Korea has broken out of its isolationist cocoon and established formal relations with Australia, the Philippines, Brunei and Italy, with others set to follow. "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il has journeyed to China and participated in an unprecedented summit with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung.

The bandwagon rolled on to Thailand this week, where the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is...